Pregnant Man Gives Birth 6 July 2008
Posted by Lao Tzu in media, psychology, sociology.Tags: cbs, early show, illinformed, media, people magazine, pregnant man, press, thomas beatie, transgender, uninformed
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I talked about this subject before, but there is an update. CBS News reported on 04 Jul 2008, I believe it was on the Early Show (I am not sure because I only saw the video) that the “pregnant man” gave birth. The CBS “news” (and I use that term for descriptive purposes only) woman continued to call Thomas Beatie a man. They had a guest on to talk about it, and presented him as if he were some kind of expert, but he actually only worked for People magazine – one of the lowest forms of print journalism being just a step above tabloids. They asked him his opinion and he stated that Thomas sees himself as the father. Now, his statement itself was misleading if you weren’t paying attention to the words, but, for those that didn’t read my previous post on the subject, Thomas Beatie is not really a man and is 100% female. It should not be news at all that “she” gave birth considering she has a uterus and it was natural child birth.
Many people fear that in more totalitarian countries, the people are often uninformed by the press. In the US, we have a new trend, where the people are illinformed for the sake of sensationalism and ratings. This is very disturbing. People that don’t understand the science behind this controversy must be very confused from watchng the news, especially when CBS news reported that the birth was natural (e.g., no C section). Maybe if the news spent more time on the many more important topics out there (like, I don’t know, the war maybe), we wouldn’t be having this discussion. If news agencies would rather run stories that they think will get people to watch out of curiosity, that’s their choice, but you must be factual, otherwise, you are not fulfilling the role of jouralism in society.
The Pregnant Man Has No Clothes 4 April 2008
Posted by Lao Tzu in biology, media, sociology.Tags: collective intelligence, oprah, pregnant man, sex change, transgender
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So there was a big news story last week about this pregnant “man”, and “he” was on Oprah today. I did not watch the show – I am not a fan. However, we must discuss this. Is this how utterly stupid our society has become? Is this evidence that we have become so concerned with not offending people or their feelings, that we will be supportive of someone’s delusions about themselves. Have we come to the point where we have terms and definitions for concepts that have no basis in reality (e.g., transgender). This person is in no way a male by any definition. Gender is defined by your chromosomes and corresponding physical organs, with some gray area FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN WITH GENETIC GENDER AMBIGUITY. You are not male or female merely because you WANT to be one or the other. Even with an operation, you are still defined by your genetics, which still play a role in your physiology and your ability to reproduce. This woman has a uterus. The only reason she calls herself a man is because she wants to be one, she took hormones (which she had to stop for the pregnancy), and had surgery on her breasts.
So, I don’t think there is room for discussion about whether or not she is a male, but feel free to comment if you so desire. However, I am more interested / concerned with the collective intelligence of our society. Or is this evidence of the influential power of the press and their sensationalism? What was most disturbing was the various ways different articles twisted the facts to make it sound like a “pregnant man”. I am also concerned about the risk to the child from the hormone therapy. Hormones play critical roles in embryonic development. I don’t know, but I am assuming that is why some physicians refused to provide pre-natal care, not because they were homophobic as some press tried to imply.
People need to understand the difference between physical and cultural aspects of male and female. For example, if you are a male and like women’s clothing, it does not mean you were born in the wrong body. There are several potential reasons, but none of them have to do with genetics or wether or not you have a penis. Taoists believe one should strive for a 50-50 balance between their yin and yang with respect to emotions and behaviours that are traditionally considered male and female – androngony. The reason being is because we are not really constrained to think / act one way, and therefore, thinking both ways makes you a superior individual. The western counterpart to this concept can be seen when men recommend, “…getting in touch with one’s feminine side.” But this has nothing to do with your physical gender.
I was watching the “Tigger and Pooh” show with my children one day, and there was an episode where Tigger thought he was a jaguar. He insisted he was one because he wanted to be one and he believed it in his heart. But when he tried to do things a jaguar can do, he was not able. He tried to rationalize it different ways; but in the end, his friends had to help him understand that wanting to be a jaguar does not make you a jaguar, you are still a Tigger.
I would like to clarify that this discussion has nothing to do with sexual preferences.
